Title IX

Expectations with Respect to Physical Sexual Misconduct

The expectations of the ASU-Beebe community regarding sexual misconduct can be summarized
as follows:

In order for individuals to engage in sexual activity of any type with each other,
there must be clear, knowing, and voluntary consent prior to and during sexual activity.
Consent is sexual permission. Consent can be given by word or action, but non-verbal
consent is not as clear as talking about what you want sexually and what you do not.
Consent to some form of sexual activity cannot be automatically taken as consent to
any other form of sexual activity. Silence - without actions demonstrating permission
- cannot be assumed to show consent.

Additionally, there is a difference between seduction and coercion. Coercing someone
into sexual activity violates this procedure in the same way as physically forcing
someone into sex. Coercion happens when someone is pressured unreasonably for sex.

Because alcohol or other drug use can place the capacity to consent in question, sober
sex is less likely to raise such questions. When alcohol or other drugs are being
used, a person will be considered unable to give valid consent if they cannot fully
understand the details of a sexual interaction (who, what, when, where, why, or how)
because they lack the capacity to reasonably understand the situation. Individuals,
who consent to sex, must be able to understand what they are doing. Under this procedure,
"No" always means "No," and "Yes" may not always mean "Yes." Anything but a clear,
knowing, and voluntary consent to any sexual activity is equivalent to a "No."

Expectations with Respect to Consensual Relationships

There are inherent risk in any romantic or sexual relationship between individuals
in unequal positions (such as teacher and student, supervisor and employee). These
relationships may be less consensual than perceived by the individual whose position
confers power. The relationship also may be viewed in different ways by each of the
parties, particularly in retrospect. Furthermore, circumstances may change and conduct
that was previously welcome may become unwelcome.

Even with both parties have consented at the outset to a romantic or sexual involvement,
this past consent may not remove grounds for a later charge of a violation of applicable
sections of the faculty/staff and student handbooks. ASU-Beebe does not wish to interfere
with private choices regarding personal relationship when these relationships do not
interfere with the goals and policies of the university.

For the personal protection of members of this community, relationships in which power
differentials are inherent (faculty-student, staff-student, administrator-student)
are generally discouraged. Consensual romantic or sexual relationships in which one
party maintains a direct supervisory or evaluative role over the other party are unethical.
Therefore, persons with direct supervisory or evaluative responsibilities, who are
involved in such relationships, must bring those relationships to the timely attention
of their supervisor and will likely result in the necessity to remove the employee
from the supervisory or evaluative responsibilities or shift the student out of being
supervised or evaluated by someone with whom they have established a consensual relationship.
This includes RAs and students over whom they have direct responsibility. While no
relationships are prohibited by this procedure, failure to self-report such relationships
to a supervisor as required can result in disciplinary action for an employee.

In campus hearings, legal terms like "guilt,""innocence," and "burden of proof" are
not applicable, but the university never assumes a student is in violation of university
procedures. Campus hearings are conducted to take into account the totality of all
evidence available from all relevant sources.

The university reserves the right to take whatever measures it deems necessary in
response to an allegation of sexual misconduct in order to protect students' rights
and personal safety. Such measures include, but are not limited to, modification of
living arrangements, interim suspension from campus pending a hearing, and reporting
the matter to the local police. Not all forms of sexual misconduct will be deemed
to be equally serious offenses and the university reserves the right to impose different
sanctions, ranging from verbal warning to expulsion, depending on the severity of
the offense. The university will consider the concerns and rights of both the complainant
and the person accused of sexual misconduct.